Police ID Annapolis man, 50, killed in storm cleanup

Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun

Police have identified the contractor who was killed Wednesday when a falling tree crushed him outside Annapolis.

The man, whose family members were at the scene, was working to help clear trees downed and weakened by this week's storm, officials said Thursday. Family members told authorities the man was Santiago Lopez, 50, who was living in Annapolis and was originally from Mexico, police said.

The man was working in a home's backyard when the tree fell, killing him before emergency workers arrived about 1 p.m., Anne Arundel County Police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said. Mulcahy said the man was part of a crew from W.D. Olsen Tree Care working in the 1600 block of Homewood Road, a waterfront community not far from the Bay Bridge.

It was the second tree-related death in Anne Arundel County this week. On Monday, during the peak of the storm, a tree crashed through the kitchen of 74-year-old Donald C. Cannata Sr.'s Pasadena home, killing him.

The Annapolis accident will be investigated by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Agency spokeswoman Maureen O'Connor said the investigation was in a preliminary stage, and more information could not be released Thursday.

The Annapolis-based tree company did not return calls seeking comment on the accident. Lopez's family could not be reached for comment. Emergency workers previously reported the man was 45 years old.

State officials said no previous safety complaints had been filed against W.D. Olsen. The company's business address is listed as a home around the corner from where the accident took place in the Amberley neighborhood.